Thursday, January 16, 2025

Warsaw May Restrict Repatriation of Poles from Russia Out of Fear that Among Them are Spies

Paul Goble
    Staunton, Jan. 14 – The Polish government is now confronted with a situation many other countries are and that Moscow may be counting on to restrict emigration of people with ethnic ties to other countries: Warsaw, fearful that among ethnic Poles from Russia seeking repatriation there may be spies, is considering ending the repatriation program it has had in place.
    Maciej Duszczyk, Poland’s deputy foreign minister, says that Warsaw may take that step because it can’t allow a situation to arise in which an individual from Russia with Polish links may be “part of the Russian KGB” (kresy.pl/wydarzenia/rodacy-ze-wschodu-moga-stracic-prawo-do-repatriacji-wiceminister-tlumaczy-to-wzgledami-bezpieczenstwa/).
    His words, even if Warsaw doesn’t act on them, call attention to a problem many countries have with co-ethnics from Russia: Moscow has used them to place spies in other countries and used suspicions about them to force some among these diasporas to cooperate with Soviet and now Russian intelligence services.
    And because that is the case, Moscow may be just as pleased that this possibility is being discussed in the Polish capital given that it is likely to be picked up elsewhere in Europe, the Middle East and the United States where there are sizeable diasporas that Moscow has used and will be able to use even more often if suspicions about them increase.  

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